Street-cleaning machine.



LE *RCY H. RUBY.

STREET CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 28, 1911.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Attornevs LE ROY H. ROBY. STREET CLEANING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR.2B, 1911.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

( Inventor Witnesses Attorneys LE ROY H. ROBY, OF EOSTOR-IA, OHIO.

STREET-CLEANING MACHINE.

TooZZ whom it may concern:

v lie-it known'that I, Ln Roy H. RoBY, a

. citizen ofthe United States, residing at Fostoria, in the county of Seneca and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful vStreet-Cleaning Machine, of whichthe following is a specification.

.;This invention relates to street cleaning machines and its object is to provide a" motor propelled vehicle having means whereby dirt may be'sucked from. the surface over whichthe machine is traveling and deposited in'a dust collector carried by the ma-'- chine, therebeing means located in advance of the suction-tubes for loosening the dirt sothat it can be easily carried away by the air sucked through the tubes.

- .Another object is to provide a plurality of independently movable suction tubes designed to shift upwardly out of theway of any"obstructions in the path thereof, thus preventing injury to the tubes after they have once been set in operative positions.

\Vith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appearas the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed it being understood that changes in the precise embodimentof the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, the preferred form of the invention has been shown. In said drawings :'Figure 1 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of the street cleaning machine. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the machine. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section on the line AB Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section through one of the end bearings of the suction pipe. Fig. 5 is an enlarged section through one of the intermediate bearings of the suction pipe. Referring to the figures by characters ofreference' 1 designates the frame of the vehicle, the same having a motor 2 of any desired type mounted thereon whereby the machine can be propelled in the same manner as an ordinary motor vehicle. Arranged within the rear portion of the frame is a suction tube made up. of three sections designated at 3, 4 and 5 respectively, the end sections 3 and 5 being each swiveled within coupling members (5 detachably secured to heads 7 which in turn, are fastened,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J n. 23,1912.

Application filed April 28, 1911,. Serial No. 623,889.

I as by means of stems 8 to the sides-of the frame '1. The inner ends of the sections 3 and 5 are swiveled within couplings 12'.de-

tachably secured to the ends of'the intermediate section 4, this intermediate. section being formed with downwardly and rearwardly extending tubular arms 13 in which i a pipe section 14 is mounted to rota-teflA nozzle v15 is secured-to and extends down. 5-1, wardly and rearwardly from the pipe sec-v tion 14 and additional nozzles 16 are connected to and extend downwardly and rear-.

- wardly from the pipe sections 3and 5, these last mentioned sections extending into the 9Q path cleaned by the nozzle 15 sothat the three nozzles thus clean a path extending practically throughoutjthe width. of the machine. The pipe section 4 communicates i through a pipe 17 With the interior of a 7 dust collector 18 mounted on the rear portion of the frame 1 and aving an inclined bottom 19 extending dow wardly to an out-- leto'pening normally closed by a door 20, any suitable means such asa catch 21,.be mv ing provided for holding the door shut; An outlet pipe 22 extends from the top or dome of the dust receiver, there being a screen 23 for preventing dust from'entering the pipe 22. Said pipe extends down- 35 wardly and opens into the bottom of a fan -casing 24 in which are arranged two op o sitely rotating fans 25 the shafts 26 of which are provided with meshing gears 27. One of these gears is actuated by a gear 28 secured to a shaft 29 adapted to be driven by. the motor 2, any suitable mechanisms, not shown, being provided for this purpose.

A shaft 30 extends transversely of and is journaled within the frame 1 and has downwardly extending arms 31 connected by means of chains 32 or the liketo the respective nozzles 15 and 16. Another arm 33 ex- 'tends upwardly from this shaft and is connected, by a rod 34, to an actuating lever 35 by means of which the shaft can'be rotated so as to' pull on the chains and simultaneously elevate the nozzles.

Arockbar 36 extends transversely of the frame 1 and in front of the no.zl'es 15 and 16 and has a plurality ofral teeth 37 extending downwardly therefrom and dis-. posed in staggered relation. This rock bar.

36 is adapted to be shifted by means of alever38. t

When the machine is driven forward .the fans are set in motion and the rock bar 36 is rotated so as to force the ends of the teeth 37 into contact with the surface to be cleaned, it being obvious that these teeth i will thus loosen 'the, dirt adheringtosaid surface. The fanscreate a suction through the nozzles 15 and Y16 and pipe 17. to the dust collector 18 thence through pipe 22 to the fan casing 24. The air is exhausted from said casing through a screened outlet 39 arranged at the top of the fan casing;

By shifting lever 85, the nozzles can be caused to swing downwardly close tothe surface to be cleaned and the air rushing into the nozzles will suck the dirt therewith and convey it into the receiver 18 where it will be separated from the air by the screen 23 and drop onto the inclined bottom 9. Should one or more of the nozzles move against an obstruction in the path thereof,

upwardly into the collector. I

lVhat is claimed is 1. A street cleaner including a motor propelled vehicle, suction nozzles disposed in lapped relation and mounted for independent swinging movement about an axis extending transversely of the vehicle, means under the-control of the operator for swing-- ing said nozzles toward or away from the surface to becleaned, a dust collector, a. pipe connectionjbetween saidnozzles and the'collector, and means for creating a suction throu h said nozzles andthe dust collector.

2. street cleaner including a motor propelled vehicle, alining' tubes extending transversely of the vehicle, said tubes being independently revoluble, an intermediate jtube. disposed between and alining with the first mentioned tubes and held against rotatween said collector and the intermediate tube, a tube communicating with and sup tion, a dust collector, a pipe connection be i ported by the intermediate tube and mount- 7 ed for rotation about its longitudinal axis, suction nozzles connected to and movable with'the respective revoluble tubes, means for shifting said nozzles toward or away fromthe surface to be cleaned, and means for creating a suction through the nozzles and tubes and through the dust collector.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed mysignature iIr-the presence of two witnesses. LE ROY H. ROBY.

Witnesses:

DOTT E. Srxx,

J. T. SToLD'r. 

